Hon. Leo Housakos: Minister, earlier this month the President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier stated that where the federal public service is concerned, the hybrid work model is here to stay. This decision appears to have been taken by your government without conducting any review into the efficiency and long-term impacts of public servants working from home these past two years, including efficiency such as the service provided to the Canadians and impacts including on the downtown businesses right here in Ottawa that are reliant on government offices being occupied.

While your government says it is conducting a review now, what will be the focus of that study? Will it focus on cost savings? As the Minister of Service Canada, will you confirm it will also look at the level of overall service — or lack thereof — provided to Canadians for things like, for example, passports or the enormous backlog that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is facing? We all know in this country there is a huge shortage of labour.

Will it also look at the devastating effect it will have on the downtown Ottawa business sector? And why wouldn’t that study have been completed prior to making any such decision?